locust lake state park

We camped here in September. The campsites are huge compared to other places we have stayed. They are also a good distance away from other sites. The park and lake is very nice. I was also impressed by the bathrooms and showers. They were very clean. I would definitely recommend this park to anyone who likes to camp.

Spent a night here with my sons this summer. There's a small lake surrounded by a paved path, a camp store, and plenty of camp sites. It's a very pretty park. The playgrounds are modern. Bathrooms were well maintained and clean. We hiked and rented a boat ($14) and had fun.My complaints- We got a flat camp site but some aren't flat at all.- The sites are crushed stone so you'll end up with gravel/rocks in your tent. Felt like you were setting up camp in a parking lot.- The sites are pretty close together. Luckily the night we were there everyone was respectful of the 9 p.m. quiet time but don't go in expecting you'll be alone in the woods where no one will bother you ... more like being part of a small town with tents & trailers instead of houses.

We have been camping at Locust Lake State Park for the past 20 years and love it there. The campground has sites for tents and campers...large and small. The park also has electric hook-up and a waste station for larger campers. There is a camp store on grounds which has tasty breakfast and lunch food, snacks, ice cream, camping essentials, wood (dry), Ice, and gifts. There is a large, clean stream-fed lake which offers boating (for rent or your own) canoeing, paddleboats (rental) and fishing. There is also a nice swimming area open dusk till dawn w beach and grass areas. There is no life-guard on duty so it is the responsible of parents to keep their children safe while in the water. There are modern playgrounds around the park and near camping areas for the children to play in. There are numerous paths...paved around the lake and also wooded paths for the hikers. The lake is a great place for mushroom pickers as they are readily available during growing season. There is no alcohol or firearms allowed there. Any firewood taken to the campground should not be out-of-state..due to non-local bugs and spiders which may be carried in on the wood...the camp store sells wood bundles..which are much drier than the wood which can be purchased on the road into the lake by personal sellers. A note of caution for wood cutters...if you plan to seek your own wood while there in the woods....no trees may be cut down...this includes dead trees which are provide housing and insects for many bird species in the park...especially wood-peckers. Any wood obtained oneself must be dead and already on the ground. Fines are given for offenders. There are many bathrooms..some w or without showers around the campground...most in close proximity to the camping sites. Some of the bathrooms have a sink area around back for dish washing. There are also numerous water pumps around the park for your camping needs. There are pet sites available for those who enjoy bringing there canine friends along...but they must be leashed at all times and cannot be aggressive towards other dogs or campers. The camp-sites are spaced nicely apart and offer a fire-ring and electrical hook-up...on electrical sites. There is a Sunday non-denominational service on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m in the Amphitheater near the Lake. Locust Lake is a beautiful..peaceful campground perfect for singles..families and retired alike. The pricing is reasonable...depending on your camping device...between $25-$30 a night..which varies with weekend or weekday also. Locust Lake is in close proximity to Route 309 and also Interstate 81..both within 10-15 minutes from the Lake. Reservations can be made at DCNR website or by phone...which is provided on their website.

I grew up going to this park every year as a child since it is less than 20miles from home and have seen the extreme transformation over the years. Yes this is a NO ALCOHOL park which is clearly outlined in all the rules literature and large signs throughout the park. I can contest that it is a much quieter place to camp without it.The good : sites are all very wooded and spacious, 50 amp sites, lake is beautiful, bike path perfect for riding with young ones, camp store cheap and cute. Rangers seem more laxed since they initially were deemed "troopers" The bad: sites are way off level. So bad I had to drive home and build steps so my kids could get into our 36ft camper, no water fill station, upkeep on the grounds ,especially around bike path , is deplorable, benches and tables are rotting away, beach is more like kitty litter than sand. Unfortunately due to our failing economy this economic vacation spot can attract some less than desirable large family groups who seem to get away with breaking the rules.Yes the rangers will enforce the one car rule except when loading or unloading. Not a big problem since there is little room for a second car anyways and the overflow lot is very close. I have had my share of harassment from ranger "Dick" in the past but the new younger rangers seem much nicer. We were told to quiet down one night as the rangers were walking the grounds but the kids were a little rowdy even though everyone around us was awake outside. We had to wait two days to get our check in slip since nobody was working the contact station. Rangers were very scarce until the weekend came.Our family tries to reserve a few sites in a row to make things more enjoyable. I will continue to go here due to its great family oriented atmosphere and closeness to home.

My very large family [10 of us] was just here in July 2014. All of us 'kids' are 22-30 years old, we all came with our significant others, fiancée, and spouse along with 2 children under the age of 4 and were there with my parents who are in their late 50s. We had 2 campsites.We drove far [some from VA] to come together as a family [which is hard to coordinate these days] to celebrate a new engagement, parent's 35th anniversary and a birthday. There was absolutely NO celebrating b/c the park rangers are such a-holes. First night, we were sitting around our fire chatting and catching up while enjoying a refreshing adult beverage...park rangers SNUCK up on us [flash lights out until they were a few steps away] to 'BUST' us for our beverages. This butthead tried to accuse my brother of lying when he came into the camp grounds [the ladies in the front office are supposed to ask if you have alcohol]. They made us open all coolers and dump all of our alcoholic beverages in front of them. We were NOT intoxicated what-so-ever nor were we being loud. Then both of these a-hole rangers start walking around the campsites searching for more coolers, shining their flashlights in our tents [where babies were sleeping] and even said something about our dog [whom is well behaved and was laying down at our feet when they walked up b/c he wasn't on a '6-ft leash']. Campsites are small and extremely close together. Not space in between; you will be right on top of other campers. The lake is small; not much to do. No nice hiking trails. Extremely difficult to get to. Only 1 car allowed per site. They are STRICT as heck on that. We witnessed a-hole park ranger ask people in a handicapped-tagged vehicle to move it in the rain b/c it violated the 1 per site. Firewood being sold on your way in is WET; don't bother.DO NOT go to this state park! It is lame, park rangers are a-holes with nothing better to do than bust our family, all of whom were responsibly drinking, and others for dumb, petty rules that are generally overlooked elsewhere. Not much to do. Two thumbs DOWN! My family is AWESOME which is the only reason we had a pleasant time. We toured Yuengling Brewery which is extremely close by after we checked out.Go get a life Locust Lake park rangers!

last year we went camping at locust Lake State Park the park ranger was so nasty and mean he won't even let us strapped are kids in their car seats and he was cursing at our kids and everything and he made our whole camping trip rotten he acts like he owns the park and he don't he is the worst park ranger ever

The park has everything boating, swimming a bunch of hiking trails and hand dipped ice cream (love that)....probably the most relaxing of the Pa parks I have been to. Just don't put the address they have on the official web site in your gps or you will end up 5 miles from the park entrance at a dirt trail.....lolA little hard to find but worth it!

Locust Lake is a nice little state park that has a small lake, creeks, streams, forested hills and some nice camp sites. There are sites for car camping, trailers and a few walk-in sites. The tent sites tends to be pretty quiet despite this park's popularity with families. I've never stayed in the trailer sections. There is a playground, sand beach, fishing, boat rentals, a few trails that are mostly easy and a nice path that circumvents the entire lake. I have been here several times and we have never had a problem with the Rangers. It is true that there is only space for one car per site, and it is enforced, but the overflow parking is really not that far away. Besides, on the way back to your site you can stop at the nice camp store along the way. The store sells firewood, but they don't have huge stocks of it. You can also get a bigger bundle of wood for the same price just outside the park gates. Have never had a problem with those places. Overall this is a great place for a weekend get-away, or easy camping with young children.

Very nice campground/state park. We stayed on site 37, which i think might be one of the best sites there. Right next to the lake. If you get firewood, get it from the camp store, its a little bit more expensive, but dry. We got 2 bundles from the first house after the turn onto the road, and it was soaked and we never got a fire started that night, thanks a lot! But not the parks fault. Cant wait to go again next year!!!

I would tell anyone to ignore the poor reviews on here. From my weekend visit with my family, I can tell you the people were probably more of the problem than the staff. I have been camping many times, and I have to say I would definitely come back here again. Even though the temp dropped to 30 degrees on Friday night, the bathrooms were heated, and clean. Ok, they are not four star hotel bathrooms, but they are clean and nice enough that I felt comfortable with my wife, two 6 year old daughters and my son to shower and use the facilities.Ok, on Saturday night I was listening to the Phillies game and the ranger did stop by to ask me to turn it down. He was friendly, asked us to turn it down so others could enjoy the peace and quiet as well. As a camper with kids, I like the fact that they have quiet time, as the last thing you need are rowdy campers keeping your kids up! I thought quiet hours were at 10, not 9, but it was no big deal, and he was super friendly. Wanted to make sure we were set since it was going to be so cold that evening! The sites are nice, close, but not too close, and easy access to facilities. Oh, and within 15 minutes you can get to Pottsville and take the free brewery tour an Yuengling's!

if visiting locust lake state park "our park," paid for and maintained from our tax dollars, beware of the ignorant and arrogant park ranger in the white Colorado pickup as he think's that he own's the park....he has nothing better to do but to harass a person for walking there dog on the grounds 2 minutes after sunset...if the place is closed after sunset then lock it up with a gate or put up a sign... no one allowed on park property after dark!!!!! like I said this ranger is a real a_ _hole and has not heard the last from this pissed off taxpayer

This state park is run like all others that I've been to in Pa; efficient, clean and no-nonsense. The rangers are nice and helpful. The lake is so clean you can see the bottom in 15+ feet of water. The fishing on the lake is good, we rented a boat for the day and caught six nice size bass (and we are about as novice as it gets). All the sites seem nice but our tent site had NO flat ground which was disappointing. Beware of site #253 Great location but be prepared to sleep on a hill. The camp store is great with lots of supplies and things you may have forgotten (for us it was coffee cups). They have locally made ice cream too, which seemed like a big hit. The firewood and ice are very reasonably priced. All the employees were very friendly and helpful. All in all a beautiful park with just about everything I was looking for in a weekend camping getaway. I'll definitely be back.

The staff, rangers, and camp hosts are unfriendly and rude. The after 9 o clock hours are STRICTLY enforced. The bathrooms are absolutely disgusting. Instead of worrying about families laughing at 9:15pm and having a reunion of people from across the US who only get to see each other a few times a year - look at the quality of the park - focus on the upkeep of the area, the sites, and especially the public facilities. I will never go back to this campground and would never suggest it to anyone who likes to have fun while camping. The park rangers are power hungry and extremely authoritative. Take your money somewhere else!

This was one of the first campsites we tried as a family with young children. We have gone each year for the past 3 years. Its a small campground with a man-made lake in the middle. There is a paved walkway that encircles the lake as well as the campsites. The camp store is adorable.. equipped with all the items you may have forgotten on your list to camp and great ice cream. For those who aren't allergic the vanilla peanut swirl ice cream is great. They have a small sandy beachy area that gets crowded but plenty of people watching you can do. Rangers came by slowly from time to time to see that all was well. Things quiet down after 10 usually. We camped in august and the only downside is once the temp gets above 75 those angry yellow jackets come out especially when you cook so a screened in tent kitchen when eating is the way to go. Had an enjoyable time. Its a good place for first time campers.

My wife and I just spent the weekend at locust lake state park.While we had no problems at all with the rangers or staff I made a poor choice of sites.I picked our site from the DCNR web reservation site and was not sure what we would get.I picked a walk in site and the one I did was on an incline and very rocky.Not the fault of the park but if you want a site here just make sure you check it out first.Besides that it was a nice park.Did some fishing and hiking and enjoyed siting around the fire.